Speaker :-I bow
to thee Oh Vardhman Bhagwan, the advocate of the path of
emancipation, whom the lords of heavenly beings and the Asuras
adore and wash off their impurities of the bondage of karma.

This is the sacred
Pravachansar, Acharya Kundkunddeo wrote it about two thousand
years back. Acharya Amritchandra has written the great commentary
Tatva Pradipika in Sanskrit, as great as the original work
itself. There are three big chapters of this commentary :-

1. Gyan Tatva Pragyapan

2. Geya Tatva Pragyapan

3. Charananuyog Suchak Chulika

We are at the sixteenth verse
of the Gyan Tatva Pragyapan chapter. It has been shown here that
achievement of the pure soul, with perfectly pure operative
consciousness, is most independent, having no adherence to other
cases (grammar). The meaning is that no support of any non-self
substance is needed for psychical consciousness and psychical
happiness.

The soul having attained its
natural attribute is omniscient. worshipped by the whole world
and born of itself. This has been asserted by Jinendradeo.

The Acharya wants to say here
that from the real point of view the soul has no
case-relationship with any non-soul element. This being is in
vain unhappy in his restlessness for the association of objects
other than the soul.

The Student :-What is
the relationship of cases ? What are cases ? Please explain these
at length.

Speaker :-That which
creates an action, is purposeful in the happening of the action,
is called the case. Case can only be that which in some shape or
the other can be purposeful in the operation of the action, none
else.

There are six cases

1. (Karta)-Subjective or
nominative

2. (Karma)-The objective

3. (Karan)-Means of that deed

4. (Sampradan)-The receiver of
the action

5. (Apadan)-Producer and

6. (Adhikaran)-Base of the deed

That which independently
(unaidedly) does (performs) its own deed (function) is called the
doer (agent or Karta); whatever modification is obtained by the
subject (the doer) is called its function (Karma); the
substantial cause of that particular deed by which it is done or
originated is called the means of that deed (the Karan); that for
which that particular deed is performed or done, is called the
receiver (Sampradan karak); the permanent substance out of which
that particular function or deed is done or obtained is called
the (Apadan) and the permanent cause and the same permanent
substance is called the base of the deed (Adhikaran).

These six cases are of two
kinds: (i) real, (ii) conventional. When the achievement of the
deed is shown as due to other agencies, we have conventional
cases; and where the achievement is said to be due to the
substance itself (its inner strength) it is called real case.

The application of conventional
cases is like this :-The pot-makar is the doer, the jar is the
deed, wheel, stick etc. are means, the pot-maker makes the jar
for somebody to keep water in it, that somebody is the
(Sampradan) or the receiver; the earth is taken out of the pit
which is the Apadan (or the permanent cause) and the pot is made
on the base of the earth, which is the base or (Adhikaran). All
the cases are different from each other. Intrinsically no
substance can be the producer or destroyer of any other
substance. As such all the six cases are untrue. They have been
called so from the imposed untrue conventional aspect of speech.
From the real aspect no substance has any case-relationship with
any other substance.

The application of the real
cases is like this:- Earth independently accomplishes the
production of the jar. As such earth is the producer and jar is
the object of creation, in other words jar is not separate from
the earth and so earth itself is the object; the earth produced
the jar on account of its own operative power and so earth is the
means (Karan); the earth gave the produced jar to itself and so
the earth is the receiver (Sampradan); the earth destroyed its
mass modification and produced the jar, while it remained
permanent, as such the earth is the Apadan (permanent cause) and
the earth made the jar with its own foundation and so it is
itself the base (Adhikaran). Thus all the intrinsic cases are
found in the same one substance.

Spiritually, one substance
cannot give any help or support to the other and it operates and
produces its modifications itself, to itself, with itself, for
itself, out of itself and in itself. Therefore, the real six
cases are the supreme truth.

As shown above, the substance
itself is full of its wealth of eternal vitality and as such is
capable of doing its own work into the six cases; no outside
agency can transforming itself into the six cases; no outside
agency can offer any help to it. Thus the soul desirous of
obtaining the offer any help to it. Supreme sentience does not
need any support, its dependence on others is meaningless. The
soul with its adherence to the pure state of its being obtains
omniscience in itself and by assuming six cases itself. That soul
is independent on account of its own eternal vitality and
sentient nature and as such is the doer (Karta), it achieves the
omnipotent consciousness which is its deed (Karma) or that it is
in itself inseparable from omncsience and therefore, it is the
deed; it achieves omniscience by science by the highest soul
endeavour of its operative consciousness and so it is the means
(Karan); it gives omniscience to itself and so the soul itself is
the receiver (Sampradan); it discards its own incomplete sensory
knowledge and produces omniscience by its natural conscious
behaviour, which is permanent, and as such it is the permanent
cause (Apadan); and it creates omniscience on its own foundation
and as such it itself is the base (Adhikaran). Thus it itself
assumes six cases, and so is called born of itself.

The Student :-The above
scheme applies to the pure modifications of the soul. Is there
case-relationship in the unnatural manifestations of the soul and
the karmic matter of Gyanavaran and others
?

Speaker:- No.
The six cases operate in every modification of the six substances
intrinsically in themselves. Thus the soul and the matter
substance, be they in their pure or impure states, assume the six
cases themselves and do not stand in need of other cases.

Kundkundacharya has illustrated
this in his great work Panchastikaya. Amritchandracharya has
clarified it most strongly in the commentary of the 62nd verse,
which is as below :-

1 .Matter substance being the doer of
karmic matter independently, matter itself is the doer.

2. Because karma matter attains
that stage itself, it is the deed, or being inseparable from
karmic matter, matter itself is the deed.

3.Being possessed of the power of
changing itself into karmic matter, matter substance itself is
the means.

4.Because it converts itself into karmic
matter, the matter substance itself is the receiver.

5.Destroying the previous
manifestation in itself and thus turning into karmic matter and
also remaining permanent as matter, the matter substance itself
is the permanent case and

6.Being the producer of karmic
matter on its own basis, the matter substance is the basis case.

In the same manner :-

1.The
soul independently operating as sentience and perfection is
itself the doer.

2.Because
the soul attains that stage itself, it is the deed or being
inseparable from the soul itself, it is the deed.

3.Being
possessed of the power of changing itself in animate form, the
soul itself is the means.

4.Because
it converts itself into the animate form, the soul itself is the
receiver.

5.Destroying
the previous manifestation in itself and thus turning into
animate substance and also remaining permanent as soul, the soul
substance itself is the permanent case and

6.Being
the producer of the living soul substance on its own basis, the
soul substance is the basis case.

In reality the karma itself
changes into the six cases and as such does not stand in need of
the six cases ofany other substance. Likewise, the soul
manifests itself into the six cases and does not need the help of
the six cases ofany other substance; therefore, from the
intrinsic point of view, soul is not the doer of the karmas and
the karmas are not the doer of the soul.

From the real point of view,
the matter substance itself manifests in the shape of the eight
Karmas and the soul substance as the Audyik Bhawas. The cases of
both are quite separate from one another and do not require the
help of the other. As such, the cases of one substance do not
stand in need of the cases of other substances.

Student :-What do we
gain by all this analysis ?

Speaker :-It is clear that
wrong belief persists as long as faith retains the conception
that one substance can operate the origination or destruction,
modifications of any other substance. When the faith entertains
the true belief that every substance is the agent (doer) of its
own modifications the soul due to its own non-sentient state
deserves roaming in the worldly circle of existence and the same
soul by dint of its effort can end this state and becomes
qualified for the supreme happiness of the liberated state. It is
at this point that the manifestation of right faith in the soul
starts and on this basis, as the soul develops independence of
other entities and proceeds further on the path of conduct, it
assumes the shape of soul absorption and complete merger into the
sentient nature. It is only convention to say that a substance is
the agent responsible for changes in other substances by way of
doer, deed, means, receiver, permanent cause or basis;
intrinsically every substance is the creator of its own
modifications, it is itself the deed, itself the means, itself
the receiver, itself the permanent cause and itself its own
basis. This is the supreme faith.

Since eternity, this soul has
forgotten the six real cases and has been placing its faith in
the conventional cases and thus roaming in the wide world. The
real path of liberation starts, when this soul really believes in
the operation of the six real cases, takes recourse to its
eternal sentient nature and arouses in itself the manifestation
of the pure soul. As such, a correct knowledge of six cases is
necessary in the activity of the purification of the soul.

It has here been said that from
the real aspect, the soul does not have any case relationship
with other substances. Creatures on the path of emancipation,
therefore, in vain invite dependence on others and are unhappy on
account of the consequent restlessness in finding external means
to achieve this aim.

Student :-We have been very
much benefited by the information about real and conventional six
cases, but you have not explained why you have discussed six
cases only when they are eight in number. Why did you not include
vocative and connective cases in the list of cases as such ?

Speaker :-There is no question
of vocative being a case, but connective is also not a case. Both
these have no relationship with the verb. That which is
purposeful in some way or the other in the operation of the verb
is alone called a case. Vocative and connective are not
purposeful in the operation of the verb and so they have not been
included in the cases.

By understanding this scheme of
the six cases, tearing your vision from other non-self
substances, if you merge yourself in your own being, the soul,
you will certainly attain supreme bliss.

Samaysar is the great unique
treatise of Jain spiritualism. Pravachansar and Panchastikaya
have detailed description of the Jain principles. The above three
are also known as Natak Trayi, Prabhrit Trayi and Kundkund Trayi.
Acharya Amritchandra has written elaborate commentaries on the
three in the Sanskrit language. Commentaries of Acharya Jaisen in
Sanskrit are also available.

The present lesson has been
written on the basis of Pravachansar and Panchastikaya and their
commentaries. Readers are advised to study seriously the
treatises of Kundkund in order to understand the subtleties and
the principles of Jain spiritualism.